Hi,
I've been away from this site for a long time but I'm back to finally (hopefully) reach my goal. I maintained ~90 pound weight loss for 9.5 years but never quite made it to goal. I was able to maintain relatively easily at 175 by sticking to low carb foods and not really counting anything. But I really would like to finally make it to goal.

I've been slowly moving towards low carb/high fat/moderate protein aka nutritional ketosis as described by Phinney/Volek in The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living and The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Performance. I always hated counting but I have started using ****** to track and it has been useful. It really seems to be working as I am 10 pounds from goal as of this morning.

So would anyone like to join me in this challenge? The goal is to achieve nutritional ketosis for weight loss.

If you're interested in reading the books I have them on kindle and I believe that I can lend them out for 14 days.

I lost 60 lbs between May 2010 and July 2011. Then got sloppy and tired of working on weight loss during the fall/winter of 2011. I regained 20 lbs and have been working on getting those lbs off since February 2012. I've lost 10, have another 10 to go to get back to my lowest weight of 188. Then on to my goal of 165 lbs.

I've read both Phinney/Volek books and am a big fan. I've also been following Dr. Attia's blog and love the information there. I recently purchased a blood ketone meter and want to get into serious nutritional ketosis and stay there at least until goal. Then we'll see. I'm not sure I want to have such a tight limit on carbs for life. But I do want to be sugar and grain free. I've eaten Paleo a lot of this past spring and enjoy that too with the added fruit and more liberal veggies. But I also love the mental clarity and appetite suppression of ketosis. And the yummy high fat foods.

I have 4 kids whom I homeschool. I like to run and lift weights, though this summer I've been a slacker on both those things. My good friend who is a personal trainer is going to start working with me again in the fall, so I expect to see some great body recomposition happening.

Thanks for starting this challenge!

Right now my goal is just to get into ketosis. I'm just starting in and I'll test my blood for ketones Wednesday morning to see where I am. I'll probably try and only test once a week since the strips are so dang expensive.

What kinds of things should we post in a challenge thread? Goals? Daily meals? Workouts?

Welcome jeaniem, mayleesa, & 3kids4me!
The goal is to get into nutritional ketosis which is having a blood level of ketones between .5 & 3 mmol/L. To do this you need to keep carbs low and protein moderate. It is an individual thing and they give some ranges in the book. It is also high fat although if you're in weight loss mode you will be accessing body fat as part of your fat percentage.

You can test your blood ketones with a glucose meter that doubles as a ketone meter. The strips are unfortunately very expensive. I got a free meter with 2 ketone strips from the link on Jimmy Moore's blog post about nutritional ketosis. I am not necessarily Jimmy's #1 fan, but I do think that this particular blog post is informative. You can google it. I have not yet bought replacement strips but I'm going to this week.

jeaniem--I am also more satiated eating high protein, but I wasn't able to lose weight. I believe that the protein was converting to glucose and keeping me from accessing my body fat for fuel.

mayleesa,
I have been keeping my protein between 55 & 90 grams, carbs around 20, and filling in the rest with fat. Usually around 70%fat/20-25%protein/5-10%carbs. But the goal is to access body fat so the actual fat% would be higher when that's taken into account.

3kids4me-I think we should post out our goals to keep each other accountable. Also post meals, workouts, etc. for ideas and inspiration.

I got the free meter and the two strips also. I messed both strips up from not putting enough blood on them. I am planning on getting more strips at some point and would like to try to get into Nutritional Ketosis also!

I got the free meter and the two strips also. I messed both strips up from not putting enough blood on them. I am planning on getting more strips at some point and would like to try to get into Nutritional Ketosis also!

Welcome CurlyGirly!
I have tested twice (about a week apart). The first time I was at 2.4 and when I tested yesterday morning I was at 4. The 4 kind of freaked me out--according to the book that's starvation level. I may up my carbs a bit to see how that effects the level.

I am going to order some more strips today to track a little closer. I'll probably only test once per week because of the cost!

I have been trying to get my food macros into the right range over the past almost 3 wks. and find it more challenging then first anticipated. My aim is for no more than 20g net carbs, 50g protein and 110g protein all the while, keeping calories around 1000. I started with the Atkins fat fast and tried the 5 mini meals but found it caused me to go over the deep end by the end of the day.

Since then, I have been doing 2 meals but wonder if this is wise as I am getting the bulk of the macros all at one time....I wish breakfast wasn`t such a problem for me....

__________________Cathy
Original start - Feb. 2000 180/125

"The energy content of food (calories) matters, but it is less important than the metabolic effect of food on our body." Dr. P. Attia

1) Get into ketosis 1.5-2 by Wednesday when I test. Then I head out of town to a conference for 4 days. So...

2) Eat very low carb, high fat as best I can while at this conference. I think I can do fine. I'll take macadamia nuts, salami, and maybe some coconut oil to stir into hotel room coffee or some bouillon broth.

3) Be down to 195 lbs by next Sunday. That's 3 lbs for this week, and doable I think. I'm up a bit with mid-cycle bloat right now.

4) Not counting calories, but 90 g. protein and 30 g. carbs max on days I can weigh, measure and track.

Post-conference, longer term goals--

Start running 20-30 minutes regularly again, at least 3 days a week
Start lifting 2-3 days a week again
Be down to 185 by the time we leave for vacation on August 7th

Run my 4th 5k in October

Be at goal of 165 lbs by November 26th when dh and I go on a cruise for our 15th Anniversary (which is in August, but we're going with friends in November). I hope to be a size 8 at that weight. We'll see how things work out. I'm 5'6.5" and carry a lot of muscle.

I have been eating exactly 3 meals a day for so long that I don't want to mess with that schedule. I think the 1000 calories is probably why it's so hard. If two meals works for you then I say go with it. I try to stay at 1200 and it's a challenge! Having coffee with coconut cream in the afternoon helps me make it to dinner. I also visualize my fat being used for energy if/when I get a little hungry.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3Kids4me

Are you doing any artificial sweeteners, Kristn?

I'm pretty sure they don't affect ketosis for me, it's more a matter of the cravings or possible negative longterm health effects that concern me. I'm not using any right now.

If the protein source is lower fat I will add some of my homemade mayo. Sometimes I have other veggies instead of salad, but I'm pretty hooked on salad these days. I like to fill it with lots of different vegetables. I do have to weigh and measure to keep it around 1200 calories. I give myself permission to up the fat if I'm feeling hungry (up to 1500 calories), but I keep the protein and carbs at the same level. I have never done this on low-carb. I am used to eating large servings of protein so this is a big change for me.

I was doing low-carb, no snacks, no nuts, no dairy for quite a while without results. I think I was just eating too much protein and too much in general. This has really jump started things!

Hello all...very excited to be a part of the group. I also have purchased the ketone meter and a few boxes of sticks. I haven't tested yet, Trying to get my diet in the correct proportions before I test to confirm. Have to save those precious strips.haha

One problem I've had is that the app I use for tracking my food only gives me the grams of protein and grams of fat I've eaten. I suppose I could multiply those by their respective calories and divide that by my total calorie count to get a percentage?

I have been trying to get my food macros into the right range over the past almost 3 wks. and find it more challenging then first anticipated. My aim is for no more than 20g net carbs, 50g protein and 110g protein all the while, keeping calories around 1000. I started with the Atkins fat fast and tried the 5 mini meals but found it caused me to go over the deep end by the end of the day.

Since then, I have been doing 2 meals but wonder if this is wise as I am getting the bulk of the macros all at one time....I wish breakfast wasn`t such a problem for me....

Not a total of 150g protein - meant to say 50g protein and 110g fat. That is more like it!

__________________Cathy
Original start - Feb. 2000 180/125

"The energy content of food (calories) matters, but it is less important than the metabolic effect of food on our body." Dr. P. Attia

ok, I'm caught up reading. I'll be back later with my goals and stats. I do have a camping trip at the end of the week and don't anticipate being on any kind of plan then, so, I guess I will try to work out the details of my plan throughout the week, and hit it hard on Monday.

I am definitely in. I watched a video interviewing Dr. Phinney and I jumped on the plan he suggested 2 1/2 weeks ago. Even though I am 50 years old, menopausal and take medicine for asthma, I have lost almost 14 lbs. in 21 days. This is even better results than I had in 2003 where I reached goal in one year (72 lbs.). I do have to lose about 100 lbs this time so I am taking it one day at a time. I only shoot for a one pound loss a week and anything extra is a bonus. I can't test my blood right now, can't afford it but I will continue to eat as though I am.

75% calories from fat = 125 total grams of fat
20% calories from protein = 75 total grams of protein
No more than 5% calories from carbohydrates= 19 TOTAL (not net) grams of carbohydrates
Usually average 1200 calories

I personally think that the number of grams is more relevant than a percentage.

I agree! Keeping carb and protein grams in a certain range facilitates ketosis. The fat is for satiety and helping grease the groove into ketosis.

Phinney/Volek recommend .6 to 1 gram of protein per pound of lean body mass. I believe that I have ~120 pounds of lbm, so I'm shooting for 72 - 120 grams of protein. I've been in the 70-100 range since I've been tracking.

I just ordered more blood ketone strips. I think I will experiment to try and find the best ratio of protein/carbs/fat for me.

75% calories from fat = 125 total grams of fat
20% calories from protein = 75 total grams of protein
No more than 5% calories from carbohydrates= 19 total grams of carbohydrates (average: 1200 - 1500 calories)

Hi-You can go to Walmart and buy cheap ketone testing strips in the Diabetic section. They about 7-8 dollars for around 200 strips or so and you use them like you would a pregnancy test. Hold'em in your urine stream.

At the end of Day 2 of very low carbs and high fat, I can tell ketosis is getting started. Metal taste in mouth and stinky pee. Just have to get those ketones built up enough to have my brain clear up a little more.

jeaniem--I am also more satiated eating high protein, but I wasn't able to lose weight. I believe that the protein was converting to glucose and keeping me from accessing my body fat for fuel.

.

Thanks. I'll try cutting protein a bit and upping the fat. Does the book suggest cutting calories?
I suppose I could buy it, but aren't these some of the same authors of the NANY book? I already have that book.

I'd like to join, too. I have to do a bit more reading and send away for the testing kit and expensive testing strips.

I'm feeling frustrated because my measurements haven't changed (I don't use a scale) for over 4 weeks, despite the fact that I've stayed on plan, weigh and measure and track everything, eat between 1200 and 1400 calories/day, and generally exercise (walking, elliptical) 3 hours a day (often using up more calories exercising than I took in). I know that people who are keeping calories and carbs low and yet aren't losing get conflicting advise--eat more, eat less, eat healthier, stop stressing, etc.--and I'd like some sort of "objective" measure of what's happening in my body to guide what I eat, for a while.

Thanks for starting this challenge, mom2zeke, and for posting here, everyone. My goal is to start losing measurably--pounds, inches, dress size, whatever--again over the next 1-2 months. It's frustrating to be so disciplined and yet have nothing visible to show for it. I'll also be cutting back on my intense cardio and doing toning exercises--callenetics and T Tapp--instead, together with the 5 miles of walking I normally do per day just to get to work and back and run basic errands. I think that all the cardio exercise that I was doing, coupled with keeping my calories low and stress at work, may be keeping my cortisol levels too high for me to lose.

Breakfast was just coffee with some HWC and coconut oil, about 1 TB of each.

Lunch was two HB eggs with 1 TB grass-fed butter.

I'm about to have some leftover chicken curry.

I'm definitely in ketosis, the metal mouth is strong. Just have to keep building up the ketones in the blood now. I should drink a cup of broth this afternoon, I do get pretty fuzzy headed without extra sodium.